John Brown's Hideout

06/11/2026

This painting from 1906 from Samuel J. Reader, a early Kansas settler, depicts the day that John Brown and his son approached the abolitionists camp on their wagon equiped with surveying equipment. Early history says Brown and his sons would run surveying lines into pro slavery camps to glean any info he could. His skills in surveying led his pro slavery foes to think he was a government man and therefore pro slavery.

06/03/2026

General Tubman 🫡

06/02/2026

🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁

06/02/2026

In 1857 while in Connecticut John Brown contracted a blacksmith, Charles Blair of Collinsville, for nearly 1,000 pikes. After two years Brown made his way back to Collinsville with the funds to purchase the pikes at $1 a piece.

The weapons would be shipped to a farmhouse in Maryland where Brown and his men were staging a raid on Harpers Ferry. To stay under the radar Brown went by the alias "Isaac Smith" and said he was a miner with his sons.

One notable story from local history says a local, Henry Douglas, recalls running into "Isaac Smith" on a rainy day near Harpers Ferry. He was having trouble with his wagon on the road. The cart was carrying boxes of "mining tools" Smith said. With Douglas' help "Isaac Smith" would make his way to the Maryland farm with his crates full of pikes.

Brown would bring the crates full of pikes, Sharps rifles and other supplies with them to Harpers Ferry. Contrary to popular belief Brown brought only this wagon FULL of weapons to Harpers Ferry and no other. This flies in the face of the theory that Brown raided the armory to steal weapons. He already had plenty of weapons and even much superior fire power compared to the guns being produced at the armory.

The intent would be to arm former slaves with these weapons once they had rendezvoused outside of town. These long two edged blades affixed to a 6 foot shaft would make formidable weapons for those never trained to use a firearm. After the raid the long term plan was to live in the surrounding mountain ranges. Brown planned to have groups of men come down from the mountains and free more and more slaves. Retreating back into the mountains and sending those who did not want to fight northward along the underground railroad.

John Brown wanted to throw the entire institution of slavery into chaos and make it more of a risk. Your slaves were going to self emancipate or be freed by one of these guerrilla groups. A simple "insurrection" would of been a short sighted goal and was not John Brown's mission.

05/24/2026

The Pottawatomie "Massacre" occurred May 24th - May 25th, 1856 in Territorial Kansas along the Pottawatomie & Mosquito Creeks. 5 pro-slavery men were taken from their homes in the middle of the night and killed with swords.

Local history states that John Brown would pretend to be a government surveyor and "run a line" with his surveying equipment towards the encampments of southerners near Osawatomie as to figure out their intentions. The southerners readily gave out the info that they were there to run off any abolitionists and kill them if necessary. Brown's family was specifically mentioned. They also relayed who gave them this information...Doyles, Wilkinson, and Sherman.

Neighboring homes and businesses had been burned, and death threats were left at abolitionist residences. James Doyle, his two adult sons Drury and William, Allen Wilkinson, and William Sherman were all involved in both threatening their anti-slavery neighbors like the Browns and trying to enforce the bogus laws from the fraudulent election of 1855. The Doyle's were former slave catchers and now enforcers for the bogus legislature. They were said to be tasked with arresting Brown and his sons on bogus charges. Wilkinson was a part of this very bogus legislature, and Sherman was a known militant pro-slaver whose brother was also on John Browns list that night, but he was out of the territory.

John Brown, His sons Frederick, Owen, Watson, Oliver, son-in-law Henry Thompson, neighbors Theodore Weiner & James Townsley split into two groups that night and proceeded to capture these accused men and held a quick trial as to their involvement against Brown and others.

Mahala Doyle is said to criticize her husband about his involvement terrorizing his neighbors as he was dragged out of the house. "When we entered the Doyle cabin," says Salmon Brown, "Mrs. Doyle stormed, raved at her men, after we had taken them prisoners. ' Haven't I told you what you were going to get for the course you have been taking?' she screamed. 'Hush, mother, hush,' replied her husband."

05/20/2026

The John Brown Statue in Kansas City had a nice restoration and cleaning. The old man is looking good. His soul goes marching on. Shout out to for the heads up!

05/16/2026

John Steuart Curry - Tragic Prelude

05/14/2026

It's all about Tubman at the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center

Join us this Saturday, May 16th from 12:30pm to 1:30pm at our Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center for an Author Talk and Book Signing for “Mission to Free the People, 1863: Harriet Tubman’s brilliant use of the natural world as spy, scout, and leader.”

‘Mission to Free the People, 1863’ tells a small portion of Harriet Tubman's long life--her incredible role as a naturalist, spy, and leader during the Civil War. Using her deep knowledge of nature, Harriet used rivers, tides, plants, and the night sky to help guide Union soldiers safely through dangerous territory along the Combahee River in South Carolina.

We hope to see you there!!

05/13/2026

On this day in , May 13, 1862 – A slave named Robert Smalls commandeered the USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, and stole through Confederate lines and was passed to the .
Historygonewilder.com